By Movieguide® Staff
Ready to get your child a smartphone? Here are some of the questions you need to ask yourself before taking that step.
“Giving your child a smartphone is one of the defining milestones of modern childhood (and parenthood),” tech company Bark wrote in a blog post. “Unlike getting a driver’s license or landing a first job, there’s no minimum age requirement or rulebook to follow. It’s completely up to you. Sound like a lot of pressure? You’re not alone.”
Related: What Parents Really Need to Know About Giving Their Young Child a Smartphone
The post continued, “Answering these won’t necessarily lead to a clear-cut yes or no, but they will help you feel confident that you’ve considered all the factors.”
Initially, parents need to ask themselves if their child is “responsible in other areas” of their life and can “step away from things they love” without struggle.
“Smartphones are specifically designed to hold our attention, and for kids who already find it difficult to disengage from stimulating activities, that pull can be even stronger,” Bark explained.
They also recommended parents interrogate their own motives — for example, what led to you deciding your child needs a smartphone? Or, “is it a true-need, or a nice-to-have?”
Dave Anderson, PhD, a clinical psychologist at the Child Mind Institute, made similar comments in a post for CMI’s website, saying, “The question has flipped from when to get your kid a phone, to how do you make it so the introduction of the phone is in line with their developmental stage? It may be helpful for a fourth grader to have a phone to be in touch with you when they need to be picked up or are on a sleepover, but most parents don’t want their late elementary or early middle school kids diving into the internet and social media apps.”
Bark encouraged parents to look for other alternatives, too; instead of a smartphone, try a “dumb phone” that only allows children to call or text, and not access social media platforms.
It’s also important to have frank conversations with your children about digital safety, as well as other family rules surrounding screen time limits or being able to use the phone at night.
“I think by saying that things are more complex, naturally it does push the question back to the parents,” Amy Orben, an experimental psychologist at the University of Cambridge, told the BBC. “But that might actually not be such a bad thing, because it’s so heavily individual.”
Bark’s post concluded, “Here’s the thing: a new smartphone isn’t just your child’s responsibility — it’s yours, too. Staying involved doesn’t mean reading every text, but it does mean keeping the lines of communication open, checking in regularly, and being willing to adjust the rules as your child grows.”
Getting your child a smartphone is a big decision. It’s important to really think about what this would mean for both your child and your family before you take this next step.
Read Next: Wondering When to Give Your Child a Smartphone? Here’s What the Data Says
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